With more Ohio University students making their thoughts about suicide public, a new organization will seek to train their friends and professors in how to respond.
During the past year, several students have attempted or committed suicide on OU’s campus. They have reached out in a number of ways, ranging from graffiti expressing despair to a public plea for help on social media and Jenny Hall-Jones, interim dean of students, said it is time for the university to take action.
“It kind of happened simultaneously,” Hall-Jones said. “We need to get together and get gatekeeper training. … It sparked my own interest — could we be doing something differently?”
This resulted in the creation of the Suicide Prevention Coalition.
The Suicide Prevention Coalition met for the first time March 20 to discuss how to provide students, faculty and anyone else interested with training in how to respond if an individual expresses thoughts of suicide or self-harm, Hall-Jones said.
Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi said the coalition’s creation was necessary and that depression in college students must be a priority.
“This is a very important issue that confronts all college campuses,” Lombardi said. “I applaud my colleagues for starting this initiative, and I look forward to seeing the momentum grow around supporting students who are struggling with these issues.”
For some students, the topic of suicide is personal. Beth Schnipke, a senior studying African American Studies, said that two years ago, one of her friends at OU attempted suicide and was hospitalized.
“I was really scared, and I felt like it was somewhat my fault, like I wasn’t a good enough friend,” Schnipke said.
Among college students with some type of mental health condition, 40 percent will not seek help because of concerns about the stigma attached, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Schnipke said she was not surprised by the high percentage of students not seeking counseling.
“I think students are afraid of what people will think of them if they seek help,” she said. “I do think that there’s a stigma about depressed or suicidal thoughts.”
Lombardi said he thinks OU is an exception to the stigma and that there hasn’t necessarily been an increase in depression on campus.
“I’m not sure that I think these are on the rise (related to the past few years), but perhaps students are being more public about their thoughts,” he said. “It has been very positive to see the support that fellow Bobcats show to these students.”
Schnipke said the coalition will be important to OU.
“I hope that it gets people to take mental health more seriously and erases some of the negative stigma with talking to a therapist or even talking to your friends about getting help,” she said. “If even one person’s life is saved, then it’s worth it.”
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